Breathing through the nose during sleep is highly advantageous compared with breathing through the mouth. When breathing through your mouth the saliva secretion decreases and the mucous membranes become dry. This provides a breeding ground for bacteria and causes dental problems, or an increase thereof, since there is no longer enough fresh saliva for efficacious rinsing. A further aspect of breathing through the mouth is that the teeth are not sufficiently supported and, when the jaws are being separated, thus start to grow at an angle, as there is no resistance.
Breathing through the mouth increases the risk of snoring, since anatomically the throat becomes narrower and the airway smaller as a result of the lower jaw frequently dropping. This constriction of the throat often causes snoring and abnormal breathing. A narrow airway means that you must breathe harder to get enough oxygen, the result being even more snoring sounds.
To reduce or completely eliminate the snorings, snoring guards designed to reposition the lower jaw forward can be used, the guards being positioned in the mouth and retained by an occlusal hold. A drawback of these guards, however, is that they do not bring the jaws tightly together, which means that people with restricted nasal meatuses will tend to open their mouth to breath and, with the mouth open, the effect of snoring guards designed to reposition the lower jaw forward is lost. To improve the situation of these people, the snoring guard designed to reposition the lower jaw forward can be combined with a nose-dilating device, i.e. means arranged outside or inside the nose to dilate the nostrils.
Some people may have a partly deformed nose, which results in an inaccurate air flow and when the person breathes heavily through the nose the nasal walls are simply sucked together, thus obstructing the passage of air. This may also be important, for example, when practicing sports, in which case an optimal air intake is desired.
There are currently a number of methods and means for creating and maintaining a satisfactory passage of air through the nose, for instance by means of external nose-dilating devices, such as nose adhesive strips, or internal nose dilating means, such as plastic springs provided between the nostrils to dilate the nasal openings, and decongestants, such as nose sprays or nose drops.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,342 discloses an internal nose-dilating device, which comprises a pair of hollow, cylindrical members, which are made of an elastomeric material and have the shape of a nostril and are designed to be worn inside the nose, a handle portion connecting the two nasal inserts. The drawback of this device is that it cannot be adjusted to different nose shapes or different dilating needs.
WO 8803788 discloses a nose-dilating device in the form of two end portions that are interconnected in a resilient manner, i.e. like a spring-resembling plastic wing, which is inserted into both nostrils, whereby the rigidity of the resilient material causes the front part of the nostrils to dilate. A considerable drawback is here that a large part of the device protrudes from the nose. Due to the strong biasing force, any contact with the device, for instance when touching the pillow or poking it directly, may dislocate the wings, the rigidity of the material thereby causing the plastic wing to fly out of the nose. Accordingly with such a strong biasing force, the product is sensitive to outer influence.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,409 discloses an internal nose-dilating device in the form of cylindrical convex tubes, which are inserted into the nose to dilate the nostrils and which are connected by means of a larger external portion. The tubes consist of an open framework having an interior portion and an exterior portion and a plurality of interconnected elongate members, which members extend between the interior and exterior portions and at least one of which is convex. The device described in this document is intended for use in connection with strenuous physical exercise and the administration of anaesthetics. Such devices are often rigid and clearly visible and, above all, rarely adapted to the anatomy of the nose and its different cavities. They are often too long and too bulky and therefore less comfortable and efficacious, since their straight lines make it difficult to keep them positioned in the nose. Furthermore, due to their design they do not fit all types of noses. The air flow obtained when using a completely round insect is not optimal, since a significant part of the air has to pass along the side, its passage being, in fact, partly obstructed by the device. Due to the exterior larger portion there is also an increased risk of the device flying out of the nose when touched.
US 2003150449 discloses a nasal strip, which is attached to the nose by means of adhesive ends for the purpose of nasal dilation. The drawback of devices of this kind is that they are clearly visible and that thorough cleaning of the nose to remove grease is required before attaching them. In many cases, such nasal strips can be used only once, thus generating a significant yearly cost. There is also a risk of the person wearing it being affected by the adhesive. When practicing sports, drops of perspiration form, which may reduce the strength of the strip adhesive. Often, the adhesive used is strong, which implies time-consuming cleaning. Beauty creams cannot be used, which some people consider to be a disadvantage.
There is hence a need for a nose-dilating device which dilates the nostrils to obtain an optimal air intake when sleeping or practicing sports, which device may easily be adjusted to fit all types of nostrils, which due to ethnical origin or injury may be of different shapes, and which is firmly positioned in the nose without being affected when touched. Furthermore, the nasal dilation should be individually adjustable for each nostril. The nose-dilating device should also be discreet and shaped in a suitable manner to fit the anatomy of the nose. It should be positioned inside the nose and expand entirely individually from a centre of its own, which makes each insert independent of the other. Moreover, the nose-dilating device should be easy to clean and adapted for repeated use.